Abstract
The hypothesis of a protective effect of fish oil supplementation in preventing some consequences of pregnancy such as gestational hypertension is put forward which has attracted increasing attention. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fish oil supplementation on outcomes of pregnancy. This study was a clinical trial performed on 339 women with singleton pregnancy aged 18-35 and gestational age of 20 weeks who visited prenatal clinic at Kosar Hospital in Qazvin during 2015-2016. Patients were randomly divided into two groups marked as intervention group which received soft gelatin capsules (each containing 1000 mg fish oil including 120 mg DHA and 180 mg EPA) on a daily basis from the 20(th) week to the end of pregnancy, and the women in the control group with no fish oil intake. The outcomes of pregnancy including preeclampsia, eclampsia, preterm labor, gestational diabetes, weight, height, head circumference at birth and the gestational age at delivery were evaluated in both groups. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including Mann-Whitney U test and t-test. There was significant difference in gestational age between the two study groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the percentage of preterm birth, preeclampsia, eclampsia, IUGR, and GDM between the two groups (P > 0.05). The results of this study showed that consumption of fish oil supplements from 20(th) week of gestation by 18-35 year-old pregnant women increased pregnancy age but failed to decrease the percentage of preterm birth, preeclampsia, eclampsia, IUGR, and GDM.